These 7 treadmill workouts are guaranteed to crush boredom and increase your burn

Meet the experts: Ellen Latham, CPT, is a personal trainer and creator and co-founder of Orangetheory Fitness. Karli Alvino, CPT, is a personal trainer and coach at Mile High Run Club. Michaela Ragaas, CPT, is a personal trainer and education and training manager at Technogym. Matthew Meyer, CPT, is a personal trainer and run coach at Mile High Run Club.

What it’s all about: Keep your treadmill at a 1% incline whenever you reach your steady-state pace—this is your recovery period. You’ll increase the incline from there to target your glutes and hamstrings. ‘By increasing the incline, you will increase the effort it takes to maintain your speed’, says Latham, the creator of this workout.

Time: 15+ minutes

5 minutes: Warm-up (walk or jog)

1 minute: Steady-state pace at 1% incline

1 minute: Maintain pace at 2% incline

1 minute: Maintain pace at 1% incline

1 minute: Maintain pace at 3% incline

Continue alternating 1 minute at 1% incline, then 1 minute at a higher incline, increasing by 1% incline every time, until you have reached the highest incline on the treadmill (or as high as you can go). Maintain steady-state pace throughout.

5 minutes: Cooldown (walk or jog)

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What it’s all about: Push your steady pace—that speed you can comfortably maintain for about a half hour—through longer and longer intervals in this workout from Latham. You’ll increase your speed for one to three minutes, with an active recovery after that. ‘The longer you increase speed, the longer your steady-state pace’, says Latham. Breathe deep and focus on running long and strong.

Time: 17+ minutes

5 minutes: Warm-up (walk or jog)

1 minute: 1–2 mph above steady-state pace

1 minute: Steady-state pace

2 minutes: 1–2 mph above steady-state pace

2 minutes: Steady-state pace

3 minutes: 1–2 mph above steady-state pace

3 minutes: Steady-state pace

Repeat until fatigued, always matching your steady-state pace recovery with the duration of your effort.

5 minutes: Cooldown (walk or jog)

What it’s all about: Targeting your glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves with this treadmill workout that also incorporates strength training moves, created by Ragaas. Bonus: It will help improve your core stability—a key to better, faster mileage.

Time: 13-16 minutes

4 minutes: Warm-up (jog)

30 seconds: Squats (off the tread)

1 minute: Walk

1 minute: Walking lunges (at 3 mph or comfortable pace)

30 seconds: Sprint at max speed

Repeat from the squats for 2-3 rounds

3 minutes: 8-15% incline walk

What it’s all about: This workout centres around 60-second sprints. To figure out your sprint speed, consider your steady-state pace—a pace you can maintain for about 25 to 30 minutes—says Ellen Latham, CPT, creator and co-founder of Orangetheory Fitness. Then, increase that speed by two miles per hour for your spring pace.

‘The goal is to try to match or slightly increase the speed from the previous effort [with each sprint]’, she says. ‘The purpose of this style of interval training is to increase your muscles’ ability to produce power on the treadmill.’ You’ll also improve the rate at which you recover from each sprint, as well as your endurance.

Time: 16-20 minutes

5 minutes: Warm-up (walk or jog)

1 minute: Steady-state pace

1 minute: Sprint

Repeat the minute intervals 6-10 times, alternating steady-state pace and sprint

5 minutes: Cooldown (walk or jog)

What it’s all about: Beginner runners tend to gravitate toward running workouts with a lot of room for breaks, says Karli Alvino, CPT, a personal trainer and coach at Mile High Run Club. ‘This program has a lot of intervals, as well as room for improvement.’ Because of this, it’s a good intro to tread workouts. FYI: RPE stands for ‘rate of perceived exertion’. On a scale of 0 to 10, think of 0 as an effort equivalent to relaxing on the couch, 5 a recovery jog that’s easy enough for you to talk, and 10 your all-out sprint, says Alvino.

Time: 38 minutes

5 minutes: Warm-up (dynamic stretches, walk or jog)

90 seconds: Light run (RPE 6)

1 minute: Recovery walk (RPE 3–4)

90 seconds: Run at 3 percent incline (RPE 6–7)

1 minute: Recovery walk (RPE 3–4)

90 seconds: Hard run (RPE 8)

1 minute: Recovery walk (RPE 3–4)

90 seconds: Hard run (RPE 8–9)

2 minutes: Recovery walk (RPE 3–4)

90 seconds: Hard run (RPE 8–9)

2 minutes: Recovery walk (RPE 3–4)

90 seconds: Hard run (RPE 8–9)

2 minutes: Recovery walk (RPE 3–4)

2 minutes: Run at 3 percent incline (RPE 6–7)

90 seconds: Recovery walk (RPE 3–4)

2 minutes: Hard run (RPE 7–8)

90 seconds: Recovery walk (RPE 3–4)

2 minutes: Breathless run (RPE 8–9)

90 seconds: Recovery walk (RPE 3–4)

30 seconds: Sprint (RPE 10)

90 seconds: Recovery walk (RPE 3–4)

30 seconds: Sprint (RPE 10)

2 minutes: Cooldown (walk or jog)

What it’s all about: Strengthen your cardio endurance and improve your muscular endurance (or how long your muscles can work) with this program. ‘Muscular endurance allows you to perform a skill more effectively, and you achieve it through developing muscular strength at lower loads and high repetition’, says Michaela Ragaas, CPT, personal trainer and education and training manager at Technogym, who designed this incline workout to do just that.

Time: 30 minutes

4 minutes: Warm-up (establish a comfortable pace, then mix in lateral walks, high knees, and butt kicks)

Hill 1:

1 minute: 3% incline run (comfortable pace)

1 minute: 0% incline active recovery walk or jog

1 minute: 5% incline run (a step above comfortable pace)

1 minute: 0% incline active recovery walk or jog

1 minute: 5% incline run (a step above comfortable pace)

1 minute: 0% incline active recovery walk or jog

1 minute: 3% incline run (comfortable pace)

2 minutes: 1% incline (recovery pace)

Hill 2:

90 seconds: 4% incline (a step above comfortable pace)

30 seconds: 0% incline active recovery walk or jog

90 seconds: 3% incline (a step above comfortable pace; aim for 0.5 mph higher than last incline)

30 seconds: 0% incline active recovery walk or jog

90 seconds: 2% incline (a step above comfortable pace; aim for 0.5 mph higher than last incline)

90 seconds: 0% incline active recovery walk or jog

90 seconds: 1% incline (a step above comfortable pace)

Hill 3:

1 minute: 1% incline (recovery speed)

2 minutes: 3% incline (a step above comfortable pace)

1 minute: 1% incline (recovery speed)

2 minutes: 3% incline (a step above comfortable pace)

4 minutes: cooldown, 0% incline (walk or jog)

What it’s all about: ‘Speed is considered one of the most fundamental components of fitness performance,’ says Ragaas. To pick up your pace and build your strength, you’ll focus on both speed and inclines during this workout. Don’t be afraid to get uncomfortable!

Time: 10 minutes

1 minute: Easy pace at 4% incline (think warm-up speed)

1 minute: Moderate pace at 4% incline

1 minute: Hard pace at 4% incline

1 minute: Easy pace at 2% incline (think active recovery speed)

1 minute: Moderate pace at 2% incline

1 minute: Hard pace at 2% incline

1 minute: Easy pace at 0% incline

1 minute: Moderate pace at 0% incline

1 minute: Hard pace at 0% incline

1 minute: Recovery jog or walk at 0% incline

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Mallory Creveling is an ACE-certified personal trainer and RRCA-certified run coach, who also holds multiple other fitness certifications and regularly stays on top of her continuing education in the field. She has more than a decade of experience covering fitness, health, and nutrition for a wide range of publications, and she has nearly 10 years of experience as a trainer and fitness instructor. Mallory stays on top of the latest science in wellness, has worked with some of the best experts in their medical fields, and regularly interviews researchers, trainers, athletes, and more to find the best advice for readers looking to improve their performance and well-being.

As a freelance writer, Mallory’s work appeared in Women’s Health, Self, Men’s Journal, Reader’s Digest, and more. She has also held staff editorial positions at Family Circle and Shape magazines, as well as DailyBurn.com. A former New Yorker/Brooklynite, she’s now based in Easton, Pennsylvania.